TREVOSE, PA - Fleets can cut their loss recovery times by nearly 60 percent and save their companies millions of dollars a years in labor and interest expenses by making better use of technology, Chris Villella, senior manager of loss recovery and insurance services for the CEI Group Inc. told an audience of subrogation professionals at the Fifth Annual National Automobile Subrogations Strategies ExecuSummit.

Including savings on time, labor, paper and postage and reduced interest expenses, a subrogation department that processes $1 million in recovery claims a month can generate savings of nearly $250,000 a year, Villella told the gathering of subrogation professionals, held at the Monhegan Sun Resort and Casino in Uncasville, CT.

Citing specific examples, Villella told the group that:

• Using faxes instead of the US mail to send and receive claim documents can reducethe amount of time it takes to recover damages by as much as 28 percent, or 23 days off an 80-day average recovery cycle period.

• Using email can cut claim recovery time by another 60 percent, or 25 days.

• A pilot program of a web-based subrogation clearinghouse called E-Subro Hub, created and operated by the non-profit Arbitration Forums, Inc., has reduced average recovery claim time for participating firms by another 19 days.

A recent study of CEI's own subrogration claims processing found that using faxes and emails resulted in nearly seven fewer follow-up contacts and more than an hour of labor time per claim, resulting in operational savings of more nearly $34 each, Villella told the group.  Participation in the E-Subro Hub pilot program has yielded CEI nearly another $8 in savings per processed claim.  Last year, the program was conducted in six states and the District of Columbia, he said.

Villella said the major benefit of reducing damage loss recovery time is a faster inflow of cash, enabling a company or government to depend less on short-term lines of credit to cover operating expenses.

About The CEI Group, Inc. (CEI)

CEI is a leading provider of technology-enhanced vehicle accident, driver safety and fleet risk management services.  Its provider network includes some 4,000 collision repair shops in North America, including more than 800 heavy-duty truck collision repair centers.  Its customers include self-insured commercial, institutional and governmental fleets, directly and through its alliances with fleet leasing companies. CEI also provides vehicle direct repair program outsourcing to leading property and casualty insurance companies. 

Founded in 1983, CEI has headquarters near Philadelphia, PA, with field sales offices in Trevose, PA; Monroe, MI; Tulsa, OK; and Pittsburgh PA.  In 2000, CEI launched DriverCare^TM, a line of fleet risk management and driver safety services, including DriverCare Risk Manager^TM, DriverCare mvrComplete^TM, DriverCare Quarterly^TM and DriverCare Web-Based Training^TM. For more information about CEI, please visit www.ceinetwork.com.